On 2002-09-12 23:02, Morrow wrote:I had the spreader bar in my hands in the shop today. I found it very difficult to open the hook. Let alone opening it under full pressure. What is it with this thing....some hate it, some love it?

This is a important subject,I use a shackle but I am convinced that if it all when bad in a hurry I probaly could not manage to get out fast enough I was thinking of putting a longer release line on the shackle and looping it around the top of the chicken loop with a snap or vecro so the realese would be easier to locate although this is not a solution it may simplify the hunting which is what feeks me.

Like Dwight said, we've easily filled 4 pages (and then some) talking about all of this. Shackles, quick release spreader bars, improved control bars and leashes are all vital aspects of kite equipment that need to become more universally improved. Hopefully, industry is focusing more research and development on these critical issues and will soon give us better options. In the meantime, lets keep talking about how we can best use what we got.

It's worth repeating that if you're going to use a snap shackle, you might want to be sure your trim loop has a quick release on it. Then train yourself to use that, in case of emergency, instead of depending on a snap shackle's quick release.